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DISEASES
» Anemia (2005)
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Biotechnology for
Breast Cancer (2007)
<table width="485" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> <tr> <td valign="top"> <span class="diseaseSubTitle">The disease</span><br> <span class="rteColumn">A cancer occurs when, after a cascade of successive genetic events, a cell starts multiplying uncontrollably and may also invade other organs. Breast cancer develops in the epithelial cells bordering the lobules (glands which produce milk) or ducts in the breast. The usual form is a nodule discovered during a routine clinical examination or through systematic screening. When the diagnosis is confirmed, an assessment is necessary to characterize the tumour and evaluate how far it has spread, locally and regionally, or with metastases.</span> <a href="more.php?diseaseid=13&bloc=1" class="lienBleu">More</a></td> </tr> <tr> <td><img src="../images/pix.gif" width="1" height="15"></td> </tr> </table> <table width="485" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> <tr> <td valign="top"> <span class="diseaseSubTitle">How many people are affected ?</span><br> The incidence of breast cancer has significantly increased in the last 20 years. There are more than 360 000 new cases a year in Europe. It is about 5 times as frequent in industrialized countries as in developing countries. <a href="more.php?diseaseid=13&bloc=2" class="lienBleu">More</a></td> </tr> <tr> <td><img src="../images/pix.gif" width="1" height="15"></td> </tr> </table> <table width="485" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> <tr> <td valign="top"> <span class="diseaseSubTitle">How many people die from the disease?</span><br> It kills around 130,000 women per annum in Europe. But since 1990 early diagnosis and progress in treatment have led to a decline in deaths in western Europe. <a href="more.php?diseaseid=13&bloc=3" class="lienBleu">More</a></td> </tr> <tr> <td><img src="../images/pix.gif" width="1" height="15"></td> </tr> </table> <table width="485" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> <tr> <td valign="top"> <span class="diseaseSubTitle">Living with the disease</span><br> Long-term quality of life is good for most women. Initial treatment, in particular surgery, which can alter body image, generally only has a temporary impact on the overall quality of life. <a href="more.php?diseaseid=13&bloc=4" class="lienBleu">More</a></td> </tr> <tr> <td><img src="../images/pix.gif" width="1" height="15"></td> </tr> <tr> <td><span class="diseaseSubTitle">Treatment <font color='#FFFFFF' size=-2>Témoignage patient de Nadia Breast cancer</font> </span></td> </tr> <tr> <td><span class="diseaseText"><img src="../images/pix.gif" width="1" height="10"></span></td> </tr> </table> <table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="5"> <tr> <td valign="top" bgcolor="#B9E3FF"> <span class="diseaseSubTitle2">Traditional approach</span><br> Conventional treatment consists of two stages-regional treatment (lumpectomy or mastectomy followed by radiotherapy) and systemic treatment to prevent metastases: chemotherapy and hormone therapy are indicated when the size of the tumour is greater than 2 cm and/or axillary lymph nodes are affected. This combination enables a large number of breast cancers to be cured, particularly if the tumour is small and local and regional invasion is limited. <a href="more.php?diseaseid=13&bloc=5" class="lienBleu">More</a></td> <td> </td> <td valign="top" bgcolor="#B9E3FF"> <span class="diseaseSubTitle2">Biotech revolutions</span><br> Biotech allowed the development of drugs specific to cancer cells. Specific “markers" of these cells have been identified. Some can be a target for drugs called monoclonal antibodies which only attack the cancer cells and present few side effects. Trastuzumab (Herceptin®), in use since 1998, is the first antibody directed at the product of an altered gene in breast cancer. This gene, called HER2, is amplified in about a quarter of all breast cancers. <a href="more.php?diseaseid=13&bloc=6" class="lienBleu">More</a></td> </tr> <tr> <td><img src="../images/spacer.gif" width="227" height="1"></td> <td><img src="../images/spacer.gif" width="1" height="1"></td> <td><img src="../images/spacer.gif" width="227" height="1"></td> </tr> <tr bgcolor="#B9E3FF"> <td colspan="3"> <span class="diseaseSubTitle2">Drugs currently available</span><br> Trastuzumab is indicated only for the quarter of tumours that overexpress the HER2 receptor. In early-stage breast cancer, and administered after chemotherapy, it reduces the risk of relapse by almost half. In secondary cancers, the activity of trastuzumab in combination with chemotherapy is significantly superior to that of chemotherapy alone, extending survival by 4 to 8 months. The principal side effect of trastuzumab is heart failure. This can affect one patient in 4, but is reversible in general. <a href="more.php?diseaseid=13&bloc=7" class="lienBleu">More</a></td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="3"><img src="../images/pix.gif" width="1" height="5"></td> </tr> </table> <table width="485" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> <tr> <td valign="top"> <span class="diseaseSubTitle">Number of patients treated</span><br> The exact number is not known. The target population for trastuzumab in Europe is 50,000 to 60,000 women a year, although due to budgetary constraints and arguments about cost-effectiveness, the number is probably lower. <a href="more.php?diseaseid=13&bloc=8" class="lienBleu">More</a></td> </tr> <tr> <td><img src="../images/pix.gif" width="1" height="15"></td> </tr> </table> <table width="485" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> <tr> <td valign="top"> <span class="diseaseSubTitle">Future</span><br> A drug called lapatinib (Tykerb®), also targeting HER2 but through a different mechanism to that of Trastuzumab, is currently in registration and could be approved in 2007. <a href="more.php?diseaseid=13&bloc=9" class="lienBleu">More</a></td> </tr> <tr> <td><img src="../images/pix.gif" width="1" height="15"></td> </tr> </table> <table width="485" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> <tr> <td valign="top"> <span class="diseaseSubTitle">Costs to society</span><br> The direct cost of treating cancer in the principal European countries is € 54 billion (6.4% of total health costs). Costs related to breast cancer represent approximately 15% of total costs for all types of cancer treatment. The indirect costs from breast cancer (loss of productivity due to early death and loss of working days due to sickness) are even higher than the direct costs. The individual cost of treatment with trastuzumab is in the region of € 20 000. The effectiveness of trastuzumab seems to justify this high cost. <a href="more.php?diseaseid=13&bloc=10" class="lienBleu">More</a></td> </tr> <tr> <td><img src="../images/pix.gif" width="1" height="15"></td> </tr> </table>
